Ice-creeper



J. KIRKWOOD.

ICE CREEPER.

APPLICATIoN FILED MAR. 8. 191s.

l,l94,19l.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

6 (Mk/zaad Ylowing is a full, clear, and eXact JOHN KIRKWOOD, 0F LENOX,MASSACHUSETTS.

ICE-CREEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten Aug. s, raie,

Application filed March 8, 1916. Serial N o. 82,835.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, 'JOHN KIRKwooD, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Lenox, in the county of Berkshire and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Ice-Creeper, of whichthe foldescription.

This invention relates to attachments for boots and shoes for personalwear, and has particular reference to means to prevent slipping on iceor other slippery walks.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an anti-slippingattachment or creeper adapted to be easily applied to a persons shoe as,for instance, to the ball portion thereof, and whereby the person soshod will be free from danger of slipping, the device being light andneat in practical use and adapted to be easily applied or removed.

With the foregoing and otherobjects in view, the invention consists inthe arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, and while the invention' is not restricted to the exact detailsof construction disclosed herein, still for the purpose of illustratinga practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings in which like reference characters designate the same parts inthe several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of apreferred embodiment of the invention shown as applied to a conventionalform of shoe; Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same on theline 2-2; and Fig. 3 is a bottom plan viewA of the creeper detached.

.Referring now more particularly to the drawings I show an ice creeper,r.the sole or tread portion of which comprises a central link 10 fromwhich'radiate a plurality of chains 11 shown as four in number andconstituting with the link the principal antislipping contact members.

As a suitable means for easily connecting the chains and links totheshoe sole S, I provide a pair of wings 12, one for each side ofthedevice. Each wing comprises a metal plate 13 and a bar lower edge of theplate. The plate 13 is formed in a peculiar manner, the same beingprovided at its lower edge with an outwardly turned roll 15 whichembraces theA bar 14, locking it securely in position, and the plate andbar are curved slightly longi- 14 secured to the f tudinally of thedevice to conform approximately to the shape of the sole in plan andagainst which the inner surface of the lower portion of each wing bearsforcibly in practice. The bars 14 have eyes or loops 16 at both endsinto which the end links of the several chains 11 are connected. Theupper edges of the wing plates 13 are bent outwardly and downwardly,forming flanges 17.

At 18 and 19 I provide a pair of straps, the lower end of each of whichis elongated or broadened to a length substantially equal to the lengthof the wings, and the eXtreme lower edge of each strap is. projectedupwardly and locked beneath the flange portion 17 of the adjacent wingplate, and the strap thence is folded upwardly on the outside of suchflange and over the top of the foot where the ends of the straps areadapted to be secured together with any sufficient degree of tightnessby means of a buckle or its equivalent.

These devices are made in sizes and designs to meet all requirements ofdifferent sizes and shapes of'shoes, and in the selection of a pair ofthese Creepers for personal wear, care is exercised to select a pairhaving a width between the bars 14 slightly less than the width of thesole, so that when applying the device to the sole it may assume theposition indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The sideplates 13 therebyact in the capacity of bell crank levers, the lines of Contact betweenthe edges of the sole and the lower portions of the plates representlngthe fulcrums, thebars 14 with their loops or eyes 16 defining theshorter arms, and the straps 18 and 19 being arranged to draw forciblyupon the longer upwardly projecting arms of the bell cranks so that evena moderate degree of force applied to the straps for securing themtogether at the buckle will suffice to cause the wings to grip tightlyupon the sole edges. The device thus is adapted to be worn with completecomfort so far as the gripping action is concerned, and because of thegrip upon the sole and the friction incident tothe wide or broad strapportions upon the foot, makes 1t a practical impossibility for thedevice to become loose or lost in practice. The device, furthermore, isof such a light and convenient construction that no element ofdiscomfort is experienced in wearing it and the gripping effect thereofis so pronounced that it is a practical impossibility for a personwearing the device to slip on any kind of slippery streets. The devicealso is well adapted for use by ball players, tennis players or otherswho wish to provide a simple, strong and reliable anti-slipping devicefor their feet.

I claim In an ice Creeper,` the combination of a pair of metallic wingseach comprising an upstanding metal plate and a bar Secured to the loweredge thereof,each bar conforming to an edge of the sole along which itis adapted to extend and having eyes at its ends the upper edge of eachwing having an outwardly and downwardly projecting flange, a bindingstrap having its lower edge projected upwardly and clamped beneath theaforesaid lange of each wing and extending thence outwardly and upwardlythereover, and link means extending from the eyes of the bars of thewings across the bottom of the sole.

JOHN KIRKW OOD. Witnesses:

GEORGE A. MOLE, KATE FIELDING.

